The Permanent Secretary for Information Sharon Smith Johns has refuted claims by Economist Dr. Wadan Narsey on the state of Fiji's economy and the poverty levels in the country.
Dr. Narsey has told Radio Australia's Pacific beat program that nearly one third of Fiji citizens will be living in poverty by next year based on his analysis of the 2008- 2009 Household Income and Expenditure survey even though the figures show that poverty has decreased in Fiji.
Smith Johns said Dr. Narsey has contradicted his own figures, ignoring the positives and only discussing the negatives.
Smith Johns looking at his figures, Dr. Narsey's own data revealed that poverty in Fiji has indeed been reduced between the period 2002-03 to 2008-09.
She said however, in a recent interview he states that the future for the Fiji Economy looks extremely bleak and poverty looks set to rise further.
She said at the national level, poverty levels had fallen from 35 per cent to 31 per cent.
Smith Johns said these people are quick to jump on the media bandwagon, however do they provide solutions or work with the Government.
She said it's far too easy to sit behind a desk and look for all the negatives.
The Permanent Secretary said interesting enough Professor Narsey also acknowledges the lack of data between 2004 B 2007, which begs the question how can he possibly forecast the future of Fiji's economy.
Story by: Roneel Lal
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